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Why Is Hospital Food So Bad?
I had to get home...to eat.
An overnight stay at the hospital ended up becoming four days! The Rns,
LPNs, Aides, and hospital doctors were great and worked with me to
relieve the pain. But I had to eat. For the first time in my entire
life I am being told, “Eat!”
Well, I would, if the food were edible. When I was taken off clear
liquids (what can be worse?), I could have anything I wanted. Well, for
the first meal I chose turkey stir fry. Now, most stir fry I have had
is moist, has a sauce on it. Not this one...it was dry as the desert in
July. I have a problem swallowing. If there isn't a lot of moisture,
sauce, or liquid to help the food go down, it just doesn't.
So, for the next meal I ordered chicken tenders with LOTS of barbecue
sauce. Lots of sauce. The chicken tenders got to my room. I was told,
“We didn't have any barbecue sauce so I got some catchup and mustard.”
One packet of catchup and one packet of mustard! No, this does not
work. By the time I looked at what was on the plate the person
delivering it had disappeared, never to be seen again. First of all,
one packet does not constitute LOTS of anything. Secondly, I really
don't like catchup. My aide got the chicken tenders and I had the
yogurt.
I learned my lesson, I thought. For breakfast Sunday morning I ordered
yogurt. The stipulation was, “No banana or banana flavoring.” It was
even written on the slip. Guess what I got? Strawberry/banana. Thank
goodness for the floor staff. The did a seek-and-find mission and found
some plain strawberry yogurt.
Sunday lunch didn't get any better. I ordered a tuna sandwich with
extra, extra mayo. Tuna can be smushed up and the mayo will make it go
down easily. Well, I got the extra, extra mayo. The delivery slip said
it was tuna. It was the hardest tuna I ever saw. It was a diced
chicken sandwich. Not only that, the white bread was dried out. There
was no way that meal was going down my throat. I ate the peach yogurt.
The delivery person offered to get me something else. By now I told
them “No, I just have to get home to get something to eat.”
Hospital food is a common joke. But it doesn't have to be bad. Several
years ago I had to have my gall bladder removed in Sandy, Utah. Even
their clear diet was good. I couldn't get enough of their beef broth
and chicken broth, which I generally don't like, was good. I even got
upset because they sent me home before lunch on the day I went home.
Is it any wonder that the procedure went well, the patient survived the
operation well, but recovery was slow? Food is important to a
recovering patient. Enough calories and protein for recovery are
mandatory. Yet, for hospitals that have some of the best reputations in
the nation have the worst food services. Come on, guys, edible food is
not impossible in large quantities. The hospital in Sandy, Utah proves
that.
So, I got transported home in the middle of a snowstorm. I got wheeled
to my front door. And I headed for the kitchen cupboard. The canned
ravolis were wonderful. There was plenty of sauce. They slid down
easily. I had the first solid food in four days. I really did have to
get home in order to eat.
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